Tahira Kashyap
has been making headlines the past few days as she opened up about being detected
with Stage 0 breast cancer. Now, in a post she wrote for Mumbai Mirror, the
author-filmmaker has given a detailed account of how it all began and how did
she cope with the diagnosis. Here are excerpts from the note.
“I started
feeling heavy in my right breast and silly enough, I was happy about it. I
didn’t know what I had done right that the Gods became generous and my one
breast decided to grow at the age of 35. But the same wasn’t happening to my
left. I waited patiently for a couple of days, waiting for lightning to strike
and the miracle to happen for the left one too. No such luck!” she wrote.
“I had once heard
that if you talk to your plants, they grow. Breasts are no different. They
grow, become ripe and full and then droop. So, I had long monologue sessions in
the bathroom, waiting patiently for my left breast to grow too, leaving me
pretty disappointed. Before I could search the internet about how to grow the
size of only one breast, I started getting a secretion. That did it! Sir Google
could wait, she added.
Talking about how
this led to tests one after the other, Tahira elaborated, “My husband took this
even more seriously. So, we went to see the doctor, who is the best thing that
happened to me in this entire ordeal. He recommended scans and tests, one after
the other, that lead to me being detected with high grade DCIS (Ductal
Carcinoma IN Situ). Simply put, cancerous malignant cells multiplying in a
contained area. This is also called a precancerous or Stage 0 breast cancer. In fact, the first time I was recommended the mammogram, the
radiologist turned me away saying you are 35 and since there isn’t any family
history of sorts, you don’t require this X ray. But my doctor’s wisdom
prevailed, he insisted. The results threw him off too.”
Ayushman Khurana With Wife Tahira
In the long
article, she also addressed her desire to emulate Sonali Bendre’s “invincible
spirit” even though, at that point, she had not discovered her own condition.
Finally, on a concluding note she tells people that cancer is no one’s “fault”
and can happen to anyone. She wrote, “Another thing that I came to know through
messages, posts and the doctors is that patients tend to go through the blame
game. Of course, this isn’t my fault. No sir, no way. Cancer can happen to
anyone, there isn’t any reason behind it. You don’t bring it onto yourself and
there is no shame in exhibiting courage if you have. If at all, it enlightens
others to not take life callously and deal with it without begrudging.
Unconditional love and support from family and friends can really help those
enduring this not-so-pleasant experience. And above all self-love.”
Image Source: hesed